Our Shared Beliefs
from Jim Green, President & CEO

Our “Shared Beliefs”, as reflected in our Purpose, Mission, and Core Values, make it really clear what we stand for at Kemps. I would like to briefly explain each of the parts of our Shared Beliefs to you so you have a better understanding of what we are trying to accomplish and how we are trying to accomplish it.

Our PurposeWe nourish families.
• We provide wholesome and nutritious dairy products to help grow healthy families.
• We support families through involvement in our communities.
• We support one another as a family of employees.

Our Purpose, “We Nourish Families”, is our reason for being and communicates a message that what we do at Kemps each and every day of our work lives is intrinsically important and intrinsically meaningful. I believe that our people come to work to perform well in each of their respective roles, but I also believe that people want something “more” out of their work. Our company is in a unique position to provide that “more” in that it provides each of us a way to make a difference.

“We Nourish Families” through the products we manufacture and sell to families in the Midwest, through our community involvement, and through the way we support one another as a family of employees. Most of our products we manufacture and sell such as fluid milk, cottage cheese, and yogurt are nutrient rich and provide moms the wholesome products they need to grow healthy families. For instance, fluid milk is America’s #1 source for calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin D, and also an excellent source of protein. Even some of the more indulgent products like ice cream are a healthier alternative compared with other sugary snacks.

Kemps also actively supports and contributes to numerous community charitable organizations, most of which are committed to building, sustaining, and, in a broad sense, “nourishing” strong families. An excellent example of our community involvement that supports families would be our Nickels For Schools program, where Kemps has donated $5.5 million to local schools since 2002. In addition, our recent partnership and volunteer program with Second Harvest Heartland is another example of Kemps’ efforts to “nourish” families in our communities.

Our culture at Kemps is another way we want to “nourish” families through the support we show to one another as a family of employees. In this regard, it is our intent that respect for one another gets played out daily in our work lives.

Our Mission
We want our employees to have an experience at Kemps that benefits them and the company, and so as part of that experience it is important for them to know what we are trying to accomplish at Kemps. Our Kemps Mission Statement helps you to understand our direction, our intent. It is, “To be the preferred provider of dairy products and frozen desserts to our customers and consumers. We will create competitive advantage by committing passionately to innovation, by utilizing our strong brands to win in the marketplace, and by focusing relentlessly on cost.”

This focus in our Mission Statement on innovation, brands and cost translates into three key goals that form the foundation for most of our activities in our company, and form the foundation for our success.

1. Grow through innovation
We want to be really good at innovation when it comes to new products, but this goal also means that it is our intent to be innovative in all areas of our business – not just R & D and marketing. It’s exciting for me when I recognize employees all over the company with “There’s Got To Be a Better Way” awards for thinking and acting upon how to do things differently, how to do things better.

2. Utilize strong brands to win in the marketplace
Our brands are powerful and through time have gained the trust and confidence of consumers in the marketplaces we serve. Our focus becomes to nurture, protect, and build these brands so that we sustain our reputation as a highly respected branded foods company. In this regard, food safety, making sure our products are always wholesome and pure, is central to what Kemps is all about.

3. Unrelenting focus on cost
The dairy industry is extremely competitive and so in order for Kemps to thrive as a company all employees must continually look for and act upon ways to reduce costs. This goal clearly applies to manufacturing plants and distribution, but it also applies to every area of our business.

These three key goals bring focus to what we do, where we place our energies, and where we invest our capital – and all other goals in our company relate back to these three.

Our Core Values
However, at Kemps we believe strongly that our reputation is sustained not only by “what we do” but also by “how we do it”. The third part of our Shared Beliefs sets forth four values that are timeless, define our culture, who we are, and not just what we want to accomplish.

We respect and value each other, our customers and our vendors.We sweat the small stuff, and take great pride at being really good at the basics of our business.We treat every penny as if it is our own, and use our resources to the fullest, wasting nothing.We act as owners of the business, and are accountable for results.

We respect and value each other, our customers and our vendors.
This is not just a warm and fuzzy statement, because it is our intention for this idea of valuing and respecting one another to be played out each and every day in our work lives. Building positive relationships with people you work with is a very important part of this company.

We sweat the small stuff, and take great pride in being really good at the basics of our business.
What this means is that if we take care of the details of our business, the big things will take care of themselves. This value reminds us that we are in the food business and that the basics are essential – food safety, product quality, human safety, customer service are the basics and we need to get them right each and every day.

We treat every penny as if it is our own, and use our resources to the fullest, wasting nothing.
We are a high volume business and so it is important that we waste nothing, that we are frugal, and spend every penny wisely. This value needs to be held dear by every employee in every department.

We act as owners of the business, and are accountable for results.
What this says is that we take personal pride, personal care, personal responsibility for positive outcomes as if each of us were an owner of this company. This idea of personal accountability applies not only to outcomes, but there is also an expectation that every employee and that the company as a whole will perform with integrity. This value is of utmost importance to me as I want our customers to be delighted not only with our products and services, but also with our reputation.

It is my intent and the intent of our senior leadership team that the statements expressed in our Purpose, Mission, and Values are not just words, but describe truly how we operate as a company. It is my desire that you find Kemps a great place to work.

I am proud of our people and what they have accomplished. It’s because of our people that we look forward to a bright future as a company.

Which Kemps treat would you like to receive from your sweetie this year?

I'm going for broke: Kemps Black Jack Cherry Frozen Yogurt.

I'm an old fashioned kind of person. Kemps Strawberries and Cream, please.

Mooove my heart with chocolate lava a la mode.

My love deserves the taste of Kemps Strawberry Milk.

Anything from Kemps would be wonderful!

Last Month's Poll Results

A little less than half of you said your favorite Kemps memory is simply enjoying Kemps milk or ice cream as a family.